Connecting Online, Continuing Our Missions

Faith communities can play an important role in troubling times and both video streaming technology and social media are playing an important role in helping people stay connected. 

This week, I’ve been impressed about how my own community, First Unitarian Society of Madison, WI adapted quickly to not only do collaborative “streaming” services with other Madison-area UUs, but to also offer meditation groups via Zoom, bedtime stories, parent check-ins, singing,  “knit ins”, children’s music time and spiritual education, virtual campus ministry, and even virtual coffee hours.

Taking Small Groups Online, Not Just Services

Here's an example from the events calendar of Mishkan Chicago, a Synagogue that has a vibrant online community:

Not Connected? Band Together, Or Use Hybrid Internet-Phone Tools like Zoom

Banding together with other local faith communities can help less-connected meetings, synagogues, and congregations stay connected even where Wi-Fi is a bit sparse.

​Tools like Zoom offer phone dial-in options as well for folks who can’t get connected via a computer.

Lifecyle Events

So what about "lifecyle" events? Weddings, b'mitzvahs, and the like?

I can speak from personal experience: My fiancé and I, who were planning a wedding and honeymoon for mid-May, have also had to adapt and we're glad that our faith community has as well.

We did our pre-marital counseling and ceremony planning with our minister online last weekend, and moving our cancelled wedding shower online – with the added bonus of enabling us to invite friends and family from all over the country.

Resources

​Here are some of the other resources for faith communities that we’ve come across this week:

• From learning about how to host online services, to how to help individuals "do Jewish at home", the Union for Reform Judaism has a wealth of tools for Synagogues considering how to adapt: How Reform Congregations are Coping with COVID-19 (and Tools to Help)
  
  
• The Unitarian Universalist Association also has a guide to streaming services and meetings online.
  
  

• "Also, some in your church might struggle if your church doesn’t gather because they lack a strong social network outside the church. In such cases, it could be helpful to bring back the “prayer chain” call approach and have people check in regularly by phone." Community Without Communing: Resources for Virtual Church (Sojourners)
   
• How to Host a Virtual Bar or Bat Mitzvah (Kveller)
  
  
• "One of the beautiful things now is every place can be a synagogue,” the rabbi said. Despite their dislocation, he told the worshipers that the past week should make them “acutely aware of how interwoven we all are.” Stirring Sermons About Coronavirus, in Empty Cathedrals (New York Times)​
  
  
• "Tend to your own needs. Lean into your own community for support. And take turns with others giving care. It is tempting to believe in a crisis that we must give or do everything right now. Mostly this is not possible. Sabbath is not a luxury. Self-care is not selfish." Ten Guidelines for Pastoral Care During Corona Virus Outbreak (Christian Century)  

Faith Community Office Hours

Feeling stuck? We offer free faith community office hours on a first-come first-served basis every week.

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Sarah Best

CEO + Chief Strategist Sarah Best has won ten awards for her work including best use of a social media platform from Travel + Leisure. She was recently recognized in In Business Magazine's 40 Under 40, class of 2020. She was tapped to speak at Social Media Week for the MacArthur Foundation, has been selected twice for SXSW. She is an alumna of New York University, a Rotarian, and a board member of several nonprofits.